Bulgaria's accession to the operation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is being discussed. This was stated by the Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev, reported the correspondent of BGNES from Karlovo.
"We are discussing joining in a modest way in the operation in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Bulgaria is one of the most affected countries with a ship with a Bulgarian captain and co-captain. The Houthis hold it. The other Bulgarian ship "Rouen", which sails under the Maltese flag, was hijacked by pirates in Somalia. We assume that these pirates are somehow connected to Islamic fundamentalists," Tagarev said. He emphasized that we are not a naval power, but we have a direct interest and will contribute to this operation.
When asked if we are ready for one-on-one participation, the minister answered: "Yes, we are ready." We may send staff officers and at the moment we are exchanging information and keeping in touch to see what is the condition of our compatriots and whether they can be released."
Tagarev emphasized that what is happening in the area is a very big problem for shipping. "The largest countries - the USA, Great Britain, Australia and many European countries are participating with warships in this operation. It is against terrorist acts and piracy," he specified.
According to the latest information available to the Minister of War, the crew members of both ships are in good condition. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and shipping are in direct contact with them," he added.
Minister Tagarev highly appreciated the work of the cabinet, because it continued the policy, started in 2018, of increasing defense spending. "For next year, we are planning just over 2% of GDP for defense. Over the next two years, a minimum of 2% will be maintained. Such is the budget framework," he declared, but warned that in 2-3 years there is no way to catch up with the backlog of the last 30 years, when almost no money was allocated for the modernization of the army. “This is a worthy resource endowment, and the question for my team is how to use these growing resources. It is not a trivial task how to spend these BGN 800 million," Tagarev said and added that all three modernization projects are being implemented.
The minister recalled that Bulgaria currently participates in five military missions, with our largest participation being in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but we also participate in Iraq. /BGNES
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